The Hunger Lies
by B-Tizzle
Summary: The hunger games are not real. The whole event is staged. Game makers decide which tributes will live to become actors and which will die. Inside this topsy turvy new reality Katniss finds love where she thought it was never possible. M for stuff :
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Katniss POV

Nothing could have prepared me for how cruel the Hunger Games actually are. Not 17 years of watching them on television, not my ability to shoot, not Haymitch, not even Cinna's reassuring words.

Unknown to the public, the Hunger Games are a lie. Completely staged. The only true events are what happens leading up to the moment the games start. We make an entrance, we train, we're evaluated, and then we're interviewed. That's when the truth stops. The game makers, or should I say directors, pick which tributes will become 'characters' and which unlucky suckers will continue to believe the games are real. These kids are the ones who will die at the blood bath. I don't know how they make sure this will happen, but it does. The careers are instructed to kill everyone besides their own at the cornucopia, and the rest of us have to flee into the wilderness until we hear 'CUT!' screamed into our head set implants inside our ears.

You're probably wondering about the characters' death scenes too. The answer is simple; they're fake as well. None of the characters actually die, they are just ushered to a new district, district 17, which is comprised of nothing but past game characters. If they resist, then they are truly killed. Whoever wins the games is the only person who will make it home. The game makers decide once the interviews have concluded who will win the hunger games, and in what order the others will parish. But we are not allowed to know either of these things, we're just told that we have been chosen to survive.

The morning after the interviews the other game characters and I were woken early and brought into a conference room where they broke the news. They told us if we refuse to play along, we die. If we tell anyone who is not a character, we die and so do they. A lot of work just to play a sick game right? They just had so many problems getting the perfect shot or making things climactic and interesting that they gave up on the real hunger games 37 years ago.

Peeta's little love charade helped me more than I could have imagined. Well actually my high training score and my selfless act of volunteering for prim probably would have assured me a spot as a character, but Peeta's act made sure of my position as well as his.

The characters sitting around the conference table proved how predictable the game makers were. All of the career tributes from 1, 2, and 4 made the cut. The boy tribute from 3 made it, The district 5 female, the district 8 female, the district 10 male, I was kind of surprised since he's crippled. Rue and her district partner from 11 made it, and then Peeta and I. 14 characters in total, and one of us is the winner... Already.

There are only two days left of training before the games started. For those who didn't make the cut, two more days of fear. For those of us who were lucky enough to be selected as characters, two more days of utter bullshit. I think Peeta is actually excited knowing we don't have to die and that he has a shot with me now, but I don't really have the heart to tell him I only see him as a friend. I think things will only get more awkward for me considering the game makers want to milk this star crossed lovers thing for all it's worth.

Everyone was assigned an acting coach just like how we each got a designer. Instead of training we each spend time with our coaches. Those kids who didn't get picked are probably twiddling their thumbs in the training room wondering where everyone went.

I'm not so fond of my coach, Rakelle. She's pretty tall, has light blue skin, and her hair is curled into a huge blue 'beehive' as she calls it.

"If you're going to be playing the part of a teen lover you need to loosen up!" she cries.

"But I'm not a teen lover!" I insist. "And I never wanted to be."

Rakelle just rolls her eyes and waves me away. This is her way of saying take five. I immediately rise out of my chair and exit the room. The hallway has silver metal tiles and red plated walls. No decorations, no windows, no anything. This is where we go to train for the games now.

I make my way down the hallway to the break room when I heard another door open and close behind me. My head turns to see who else is on break. Our eyes lock for an instant and I know who it is. That boy from district 1. He just glares back at me. I face back foreword as of nothing happened.

The break room has green shag carpet and green swirly walls. It's surprisingly very plush with it's been bag chairs, sofas, and various arrangements of pillows. I throw myself across the couch. I do not want to go back to Rakelle any time soon

"Tired yet, 12?" says a deep voice behind me.

"I have a name."

"I'm sorry." he says sarcastically. "Tired yet cat piss?" his laughter booms through the air.

"My name is Katniss you inbred moron." I say as I rise from the sofa. "Or can you not remember the only person who outscored you in training?" I see his face turn slight pink in anger.

"You got lucky in there, 12." he says calmly.

"No I didn't." I counter as I return his glare. "You just can't deal with the fact that you, a boy from district 2, lost to me. A girl from 12."

A smile escapes his lips. "Call me Cato." I watch as his eyes lower to my feet, then work their way back up to my eyes. Pig.

"Okay, Cato" I say as I roll my eyes. Making sure to say it mock suggestively.

"Now what would lover boy think if he heard you talking to me like this?" says Cato with a smirk.

"He would kick your ass." I say proudly even though I know this isn't true. Cato just laughs.

"Oh please. The guy's a puss."

"Don't say that about him!" I whisper to keep others from hearing me even though no one's there to listen. "He's more of a man than you will ever be!" With that I walk past him back to the hallway. Even though I hate Rakelle I hate this guy Cato even more right now.

I'm almost to the door when I feel a set of hands on my shoulder. My back is shoved against the wall and my wrists pinned above my head. Cato stands there, face bright red, seething with hatred.

"You listen to me! I'm more man than anyone you will ever encounter in your pathetic little life! I don't know how you managed that 11 in training, but it won't get you far. If you cross me one more time I will not hesitate to kill you myself. I don't care what the game makers do to me!" his breath right on my nose as he speaks.

"Let go of me!" I hiss as my arms struggle against his grip. I can feel my tender flesh begin to bruise. "Cato let go!"

His lips perk up into a smile. I drop to the floor holding my wrists as soon as he releases me.

"Just stay out of my way." he calls as he leaves the room. I'm left on the floor tending to my wounds.

Cato POV

No girl has ever spoken to me like that. They're all just supposed to throw themselves at my feet! Not fight back. Girls are supposed to be like Glimmer. Speaking of which I think I might be able to get a hunch or two in considering we're not going to be dying.

I get back to my acting coach's room at the end of the hallway. The door makes its annoying 'click' sound as I open it. Serahm, my acting coach isn't there, so I just seat myself in the egg chair.

"Who does that girl think she is anyway?" I ask myself. They way she yelled at me, like she knew I could kill her, but she wasn't scared. I feel myself grin. It's kinda hot.

I decide to just call it a day. Serahm is nowhere in sight and I know he won't care. I grab my jacket and head back out into the hallway and towards the elevator. The door clicks shut behind me as I leave.

I catch a glimpse of something as it disappears into the elevator. It looked like a brown braid. I feel another smile on my lips. I jog towards the elevator and quickly remove my shirt. This'll be fun.

Katniss POV

I press the '12' button in the elevator and wait as the doors close. Just before they can, a hand comes through and stops them. The hand looks all too familiar. I instinctively grab my wrists.

The doors slide back open exposing a shirtless Cato standing there. A large smile slapped across his face.

"Hey fire girl." he says. Great another name for me besides Katniss.

"What do you want Cato?" I say as he steps into the elevator. He brings a somewhat musky scent in with him. It makes me think of the training room.

"I just wanted to check on my favorite enemy." he says as the doors close behind him.

"You're favorite enemy? How touching."

"I know right? Why? You want to be something different?" he says with a wink

"Gross. You're a bully Cato. I don't want to have anything with you." my eyes stay locked on the doors to keep myself from eyeing up his chest.

"I meant like friend's or allies but in glad to hear that's what you thought of." a playful shove comes my way. I feel my cheeks blush. "What would lover boy think?" he says reminding me of our last encounter. My wrists are stinging again.

"We're not like that!" I spit. "It was all a lie to get sponsors. Well for me it was a lie." I could practically feel his eyebrows raise.

"Hot _and_ clever." he says while laughing.

"Shut up Cato." I hiss at him. The elevator makes a beep sound signaling that I'm on my floor. I step out without even saying bye. The doors close behind me.

Cato POV

As the doors close I realize that I never pressed my floor button. So my elevator ride just became ten times longer than what it should have been. It was still worth it though to mess with 12 like that. I hope the directors make her death climatic. Maybe even give her runner up next to me so I can kill her myself.

"She'll be fun to play with." I say to myself. I really need to stop that.

The door opens and I find myself on my own floor again. Time for bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**So thanks for the kind reviews!**

**I never explained my motive for writing this story. I've been wanting to write a Hunger Games fanfic for some time now, but I could never come up with a decent Idea to write about. **

**I went and saw the movie at midnight the day it came out and it was amazing! I couldn't help but notice a possible romance between Cato and Katniss. That's where it all started. The next day when I was comprehending it I realized my story was more based on the movie than it was the book. The characters I saw on the screen were just actors! That's when it hit me, make them actors in the story as well, but it's still a different world. Since I know the story is based of the film's rendition of the characters I decided to make my story connectable to the actual book, they're going to be pretty close to the same story, but I haven't decided on the ending yet.**

**So keep reading please and tell me what you think and throw in some ideas if you want to!**

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

Cato POV

I stretched my arms out as wide as I could. The sunlight poured through the window. What a crazy night. I roll over to my side to see the mess of tangled blonde hair laying next to me. Glimmer. Since we're not really enemies anymore who can blame her for approaching me last night. I bet Marvel is jealous.

"Morning." said a sleepy eyed but rather satisfied looking Glimmer. "Hey last night was really fun. We should do that again sometime." she says with a wink.

"Yeah." I say into the palms of my hands as I try and wipe the sleep away. I actually have no intention of taking this any further. Maybe another fuck or two but that's all. I know I'm supposed to find a girl like Glimmer and marry her though. That's how it works with the career tributes where I come from. If they live, or I guess get selected to win now that I know the truth, they come back, marry the hot girl, have three kids, and raise each one to be ruthless and deadly. Glimmer wasn't enough of a challenge though, not like-

"You want breakfast?" my thoughts were severed by Glimmer as she rises from bed and pulls her underwear back on.

"Yeah. I'll be out in a minute." I say as I continue to rub my eyes.

Glimmer is already fully dressed and out the door when I look up.

I get up and cross the room to my dresser. I pull on a pair of grey sweats and a black t-shirt. I like how it fits my chest. Makes my pecks pop.

"Nice Cato. Real nice." I say to myself in the mirror

Breakfast was okay. Orange juice and scrambled eggs for protein. Glimmer decided to go to her own floor I guess because when I came to the table she was no where to be seen.

Today instead of visiting my acting coach I'm supposed to go to the practice arena so that people don't get suspicious.

I don't like acting anyway.

I get on the elevator at eight o'clock sharp. I should be the first to show up down there. The doors silently open and I step into the arena.

"What the f-"

Katniss POV

"What the f-" said a voice all too familiar to me.

I spun around to see my least favorite person standing there. Cato.

"What?" I ask him slightly annoyed.

"I'm always the first one down here!" he yells as if that's something to be angry about.

"I just woke up early. Calm down." he's really annoying me now.

"Just... Whatever!" he turns around and picks up a knife.

I don't feel like letting this go just yet. I go right up next to him and pick up a knife too. His eye brows raise almost to his hairline.

"I'm not scared of you." I say confidently because for once I'm actually not.

Cato just laughs at me as he turns and throws his knife twenty feet across the range where it buries itself in the styrofoam heart of a target dummy.

"You scared yet?" he says as he turns to gloat. I feel my face flush red.

I take my step up to the throwing line. My palms are sweaty. I get a good grip on the blade of my knife and throw it at the same dummy. The knife sticks it right between where its eyes would be. I was aiming for its chest too but this will work. I turn to smile triumphantly to Cato, but he already looks pretty pissed.

"Let's see how you do in hand to hand, fire girl." Growls Cato as he grabs my shoulders and slams me to the ground. The air escapes my lungs fast and I'm unable to breath.

"Cato!" I choke out. "Get off!"

"Not yet fire girl." he says as he raises a fist.

Before I know what's happening I kick my right leg up sending my boot into the back of Cato's skull. He topples over into a muscular heap. I roll up onto my feet and jump on his back. My arms instinctively wrap around his neck.

"Am I not as good as you Cato?" I scream in his ear as my small arms cut off his oxygen. "I think I'm better."

Cato's hands take hold of my arm as he stands up and throws me over his shoulder. Once again the wind is knocked out of me when I hit the mat. His knee comes down on my throat.

"Check mate beautiful." says a red faced teasing Cato. I have only one option to escape.

I take my right elbow and thrust it into his groin. A shriek of pain escapes Cato's lips as he falls to the floor. I climb on top of his big chest and pin his broad shoulders down.

"Check mate." I say with a smile. Cato's face is still twisted with pain as he holds his defeated male members.

"That was not cool Katniss." he says in a high tone voice. His breathing begins to turn to normal. I almost feel bad for him.

"Well you deserved it." I say to the defeated brute below me.

"Well you deserve this!" he shouts as he flips us over on the mat. My back pinned to the ground. My legs wrap around his waste as if to hold him back. His powerful arms pin mine down once again above my head.

"You just can't get enough can you fire girl." I'm almost sad because he's not using my real name anymore.

"No." my answer is quiet and simple. His face is inches from mine. I can feel His breath on my lips. Our eyes lock. His appear to be endless as I peer inside them. I feel my breathing slow and his hands loosen their grip.

"What are you doing?" I ask him quietly.

"I don't really know." he sounds different. More innocent and not cocky like he usually sounds.

His hand completely let go of mine and they drop to the mat so he can hold himself up.

"I don't know." he repeats himself.

My hands creep up stomach and rest against his chest.

"Cato you need to get off me." I whisper to him as my gaze shifts down to where my hands rest on his chest. He must have noticed to because his eyes went to his chest too.

"Get off." I say coldly as I push him up. My legs unwrap themselves from his waist as he sits up on his knees. I slide back. We're both breathing hard as if we were both just holding our breath.

"I- I'm sorry." He finally chokes out.

"Whoa whoa. What happened to mr. cocky?" I joke.

"Shut up fire girl." he laughs. "Next time I won't be so easy on you."

"Shut up!" I laugh. Wait, are we being friendly to one another?

I get on my feet and so does Cato. He gives me a nod just before the door opens. Glimmer and Marvel walk in side by side.

"So if you ever try that again 12 I'll rip you're throat out!" says Cato as he goes to join his fellow career. Same asshole as usual.

Peeta came through the door behind the careers.

"Katniss! I've been looking for you. How long have you been down here?" Beams Peeta as he rushes over to me. I catch a glimpse of Cato sending him dirty looks.

"Yeah fire girl! Lover boy's been worried!" calls the district 1 male.

"Shut up ass wipe!" I call out. He just gives me a weird look and walks off with the others.

"Don't worry about them." says Peeta calming me down. "I still can't believe all this that we've learned in the past two days!"

"So learning to hold a knife when you're never actually going to use it is unbelievable?" I ask.

"No of course not. I mean all of this stuff about the other districts."

He's right. The fact that there are not 12 districts but 18 still blows my mind. District 13 of course was destroyed and now it's rubble. District 14 is a huge landfill. Very few people live there. District 15 is a small prison district. District 16 produces something important but we are still not allowed to know. District 17 of course is filled with previous game characters, and I don't know what's in 18. These districts were made some time after the dark days... or at least that's what I've been told.

"So what were you and Cato doing?" asks Peeta quizzically.

"Nothing. Just some sparring." I say as if it's nothing.

"What? You know we're not supposed to!" says Peeta sounding like a concerned mother.

"Calm down Peeta. It's okay. Nothing happened."

"...well who won?" he asks me as I kick the mat with the tip of my boot. I feel my cheeks blush at the thought of how it ended. Who did win?

"It was a tie really." the words come out of my mouth before I know it.

Cato POV

"So what were you and fire girl up to?" asks Glimmer. I can tell she's jealous even though she doesn't even know what happened.

"Nothing." I say as I pull a sword from the rack of weapons.

"Nothing? Then why were you yelling at her?" asks Glimmer sounding some what annoyed.

"It's none of your business!" I yell at her. I notice other tributes are starting to stare. Fuck them. I wish Clove were here instead of visiting her acting coach. She's the only other person here who I can stand to talk to for five minutes. Well her and fire girl I guess, but she's a weakling who will surely lose the competition.

Since I was not actually going to be fighting anyone, I'm still kind of pissed about that, I decide to just goof off for practice. I throw a couple spears, stab a dummy. Try and stay awake while glimmer flirts, then the district 4 girl starts to flirt too causing her and glimmer to bitch at each other. I look across the room to see Katniss and lover boy tying knots. Looks like fun. As if on cue lover boy gets up, waves by to a smiling Katniss and leaves. Must be going to visit his acting coach for an appointment or something. It's my turn I walk over to Katniss.

"Hey Cat piss!" I say with a smirk as I sit down next to her.

"What do you want?" she doesn't even look up from her knot.

"Can I not say hi to you?"

"Well judging by how you acted earlier, no you can't."

"Hey I was just kidding earlier." I say as I push my hair back. Katniss throws her not down.

"I don't know what game you're playing here but cut it out! I already have enough distractions as it is." her words catch me off gaurd. I'm a distraction?

"Hey, I came to win. If you can't handle that then leave me alone." I say coldly.

"You make no sense at all! First of all you have no control over who wins! The game makers are writing the script as we speak! Second, you keep talking to ME!" she yells at me. I take a quick look around. Luckily the room is empty. Must be lunch time.

"Are you even listening to me?" she screams.

"Of course I'm listening to you! You just about broke my ears you dumbass!" I screech.

"Good. Maybe now you will stop talking to me." she says as she stands up.

"Hey wait! I'm not done!" I call out as I grab her wrist.

"Ow Cato let go of me!" she screams.

"You need to listen to me too!" I yell back as I stand too.

Before I have time to speak my vision goes white and I'm off balance about to fall over. As soon as I see the blue stars in my vision the pain hits me. The left side of my face is in searing pain.

"Oh fuck!" I call out as my body slams hard against the mats that are supposed to eliminate the pain when you fall.

I lay there for a moment. My vision starts to come back. My left hand comes to sooth the pain on my cheek, but it's ineffective.

"Wha- did you slap me?" I manage to say. Moving my mouth just causes more pain. I've never been slapped like that before.

"Of course I slapped you! You wouldn't let go and I already have enough bruises!"

"You have bruises?" I ask. My head is no longer spinning as bad and I'm able to sit up on my knees.

"Uh yeah! You keep grabbing my wrists like some kind of animal!" she spits at me.

I slowly stand up insure if I'll fall or not. Damn my face hurts.

"Man, Katniss I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." I say with my hand still on my face.

"You just need to calm down Cato." she says firmly. "Calm down."

My gaze moves from her deep grey orbs down to her wrists. I feel my stomach knot up when my eyes rest on the purple marks. Inflicting pain on others has been my whole purpose in life, but somehow this is different.

"I really am sorry." I say looking backing up at her eyes.

Her eyes dart from mine to my cheek. Back and forth multiple times. "Shit." she exclaims. "That's going to leave a mark."

I can't help but smile for some reason.

Katniss's small gentle hands grasp my big one and remove it from my face. I watch her expression closely. Her eyes widen when she sees my cheek.

"There will be an obvious hand print." she says, but I've lost focus on her words as I watch her lips move.

My hands lift up from side and grip onto Katniss's waist as if to keep her there. Her expression doesn't change but her eyes Move to mine. My stomach is flipping right now. Her eyes are just so... pure.

"Cato..." she whispers

"Yeah?"

"Let go of me." her voice now louder and full.

"What? Why?" I burst out as I drop my hands back to my sides.

"Because... because we won't work!" she finally says.

"What do you mean we won't work?" I ask her.

"I mean us! Romantically! We're too different!" she calls out.

"What? Romantically? What are you talking about!" her face turns red from blushing. "Where did that come from?"

"What do you mean where did it come from! You keep starting it!" she screamed.

"You're delusional if you think I, a man from two, wants to be with a girl from the slums of 12." I say coldly. Tears form in her eyes.

"Then why do you do this? Why do you act this way? Why did you grab me? Why?" she's screaming at the top of her lungs now.

"I- I don't know." the room goes silent for a few moments as we stare into each other's eyes.

"Fuck you Cato." she whispers as she wipes her eyes. "Fuck you." She turns and walks toward the exit but then quickly builds into a run.

Why did I do those thongs? It's not even possible for me to have any feelings for this girl! She's from 12 of all places!

I watched as the elevator doors severed her from my view.

_Why do you do those things Cato?_

Katniss POV

The elevator moved silently up to the cafeteria floor. Through the crystal walls I could tell we were still under ground.

"Who does that asshole think he's messing with?" I ask no one in particular.

The doors slide open with the elevators trade mark chime sound. The cafeteria is very large, even for 24 tributes.

Today's menu is beef stu with white rice, apple slices, and broccoli. Another capitol meal. It would take me a whole week to produce all this food. Actually I don't know where I could get the apples since they're only sold on special occasions in the market.

I collect my food and look for a place to sit. Peeta is no where in sight, probably still with his acting coach. He likes this acting stuff for some reason.

My eyes scan over the career table, then the others. That fox faced girl is sitting by herself again. Where's her district partner? My eyes finally rest on a table near the back of the room. Rue is sitting with her district partner. They both seem to be happy. I decide to sit with them.

"Hey Katniss!" squeaks Rue as I sit down next to her. When she realized she's not dying she immediately became more friendly and less reserved.

"Hey Rue. I hope you don't mind if I sit with you guys." I say sheepishly.

"Sure you can!" says a grinning Rue. "By the way this is Thresh. He cane from 11 just like me."

"Nice to meet you fire girl." says Thresh as he extends his hand across the table to shake mine.

"It's Katniss." I say with a grin. Cato has ruined that nick name for me. I can't help but wonder if Thresh will turn out to be a jerk too, but probably not. Rue seems to treat him like a brother and I know she has good judgment. According to my acting coach the directors have something planned where Rue and I join in an alliance to fight the careers. I inwardly laugh at this thought. Rue and Katniss against the lethal blood thirsty mega tributes.

"Sorry, Katniss." says Thresh.

"It's fine Thresh. I just like Katniss better." I say with a weak smile because that's not entirely true.

"So, where's Peeta?" asks Rue with a playful elbow jab to my rib then the door to the cafeteria opened and Cato came rumbling in. Without taking my eyes off him I reply "Probably with his acting coach."

"Well lover boy seems to like this new acting deal huh?" asks Thresh as he shoves a spoon full of stu in his mouth.

"Yeah. He was never the fighting type." I say as my eyes avert back to my tray.

"Well I kind of like this acting stuff too!" chirps Rue.

"I think I would rather die than let my family think I'm dead." says Thresh. His words sink into my skull.

"But how do you know you won't win?" Rue drops her hands to the table.

"Because in not that memorable. Just big." says Thresh blankly. "Even you have a better chance of winning Rue."

"I don't think so. They probably have something dramatic planned for me since I'm so young."

"Yeah. Maybe so dramatic it might make you a winner." He says with a smile. His teeth are remarkably white.

The table falls silent for a few minutes. The only sounds that bounce around are the occasional slurp of someone's stu or the clank of silver ware.

"I think you have an admirer." says Thresh with a nod towards the Career table. My muscles tense up at the very thought. Great. Cato has more games he wants to play.

My head spins around expecting to see Cato smirking at me, but I'm caught by surprise. The male tribute from 4 for is smiling at me while the rest of the careers, including Cato, chat away.

"Looks like someone's got an admirer." says Rue with a giggle.

"Me? Have an admirer? Yeah right" my thoughts come through my mouth without my intention.

"Oh c'mon!" pouts Rue. "You probably have boys falling at your feet back home. Peeta's proof!"

I bite my lip as I turn back to my table. "Not really. I met Peeta for the first time at the reaping. And besides, that guy is just messing with me."

"Oh Katniss." says Rue provoking a laugh from Thresh. "You don't know the impact you can have on people." She sounds just like Peeta.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! Thanks for the nice comments! I'm trying real hard btw haha. **

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

Katniss POV

Lunch went by quickly. I gave most of my food to Rue. It just tasted funny to me today anyway.

I finally found Peeta back in the acting hall. He's having more fun than he should be but that's expected out of him.

"Yeah me and Sasha had fun practicing my lines." chimed the excited Peeta as we rode the elevator back up to our floor.

"I can only imagine." I say sarcastically.

"You ready for tomorrow?"

"Yeah I guess. I mean since we don't have to die anymore." I say dryly.

"Oh Katniss." starts Peeta. "Lighten up." I feel my hands ball up into fists.

"Lighten up? How am I supposed to live with myself as I exist in district 17 out of harms way while Prim and my mother just barely scrape by at home? How Peeta? How?" my sudden outburst even surprises me.

"...I don't know, Katniss." he squeaks. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that." the elevator doors silently open returning us to our temporary home.

"I'm sorry Peeta. I didn't mean it like that either." the tears burn my cheeks.

"No I shouldn't have said that to you. I know what Prim means to you."

"Let's just go to bed and forget about all this." I say with a weak smile.

"Katniss are you okay?" asks Peeta sounding concerned.

"I said we go to bed and forget about it, Peeta."

"Okay. Okay. Goodnight Katniss." he says as if nothing happened.

"Goodnight Peeta." I say with a smile. Not a fake one, but a real one.

We part our ways and I find myself alone in my metallic new bedroom. I was still taken back by how large it was compared to what I had back in the seam.

I pull my shirt up over my head and throw it on the floor. My mind immediately goes to the avox girl so I pick it up, fold it, and put it on my dresser. She doesn't have to do more work than necessary.

My jeans slide down my now hairless legs into a crumbled heap on the floor. I go through the same process of folding and stacking that I did with my shirt.

The bed feels lumpy for some reason even though I know it's not. Maybe I'm nervous? But why? I'm not going to be dying any time soon. Maybe it's still the whole process of us lying and our family thi-

"Prim thinks I'm actually going to die!" I yell out loud into my bedroom.

I would never be able to live with myself knowing they'll be on the brink of starvation and I'll be just fine. I'm the one who's supposed to take care of them. I hope mom wakes up.

The room feels stuffy all of a sudden. Like it's trying to smother me.

I turn out of my bed and drop my feet to the floor. The shag carpet feels warm on my toes as I pull my jeans and shirt back on. Should I visit the roof? No, I bet Peeta's up there. He usually goes up there in the middle of the night. He thinks no one knows, but I do. I can hear his feet late at night travel down the hall towards the stairs. I feel sort of guilty for yelling at him. I must seem like such jerk to him right now. So where else is there to go? The sitting room? No. I'll wake Effie. I have to leave our floor and go somewhere, but I can't leave the building. The training area? I can always try.

My door opens silently. The hallway appears to be empty. I hold my boots in my hand as to not make too much noise and I know I'm much quieter on my bare feet.

I travel down the hall and through the lobby. Once I reach the elevator I realize I have another issue. The elevators annoying chime. I hope it doesn't wake anyone.

I push the button that summons the elevator and wait in silence. I don't think the chime will be all that bad. It's not very loud now that I've calmed down to think about it.

As I figured, the chime goes off and it's not even loud enough to wake a mouse. I smile to myself.

"Let's go Katniss." I tell myself as I step into the crystal room. I feel excited going down to the practice room after dark, like I'm breaking the law or something.

I calmly sit on the floor of the elevator and slip my boots back on. I don't need to sneak anymore. As usual I'm mesmerized by the view from the crystal windows. The city looks so alive with color during the nighttime. So beautiful but so ugly at the same time. Like Cato.

"You did not just call Cato pretty Katniss." I tell myself. "He's an ass hole." I continue. "Why do you even tolerate home Katniss? He's a bully." I just can't shut up.

I can't help but notice my throat feels a little sore. I make a mental note to ask Effie for something to help me out. _Maybe it's all this yelling that has my throat upset._ Prim's face comes into my mind as the elevator doors open. "You're stressed out from Prim, and everyone is just making it worse." I tell myself.

The elevator doors open revealing the large empty room. The training room is cold and dim. Maybe there's a light switch somewhere in here.

I lay my cold hands against the smooth metal wall and walk in search of a switch. Every couple feet my finger will jam into a crevice between the metallic plates, but I don't mind. It just wakes me from my day dreaming anyway.

About twenty feet down the wall I find the switch next to another doorknob. It's not exactly a switch though, it's a turning knob.

The room comes back to life when I turn the knob. It seems kind of empty now that everyone's gone. I no longer have to worry about prying eyes. I naturally gravitate toward the bows.

The capital has a small collection of silver bows, each a different size. I pick one that meets my specifications and quietly string it. The arrows are different from what I'd like, but I've become used to them ever since the night we were evaluated.

The bow does nothing but remind me of home while it lays in my lap. Oh Gale, I'm sorry. I'm sorry Prim.

I slowly slide my boots off. They were making too much noise against the floor anyway, and I like being bare foot when I shoot. It makes me feel connected to the earth somehow, like a won't fall. But there is nothing earthly about this place called the Capitol. The place where they take pleasure in watching children die. Even if only half of us are actually dying it's still sick.

I get to my feet. The mat feels cool.

"This whole situation is sick." I say under my breath. I'm in the Capitol of all places... I shouldn't say that, but I can't help it. _How do they expect us to just let our families think we were slaughtered?_

The metal arrow slides softly into my hand. I wonder whether or not it's actually metal because it feels very light, and bendable too. It actually feels lighter than the arrows I have at home. _Maybe they'll be easier to wield in the arena. Katniss the arena isn't real. _I think to myself.

I take my stance at the firing range and aim. I picture Glimmer's face on the first dummy. I don't know why, but it just felt right. With a simple pluck of my fingers the immobile Glimmer replica is punctured in the throat. "Dead." I say out loud.

I quickly spin on my heals to face the next dummy. My mind searches for a face to pin to it. Clove. Yeah, I can go for that. In moments I raise the bow to my eye level and aim for Clove's Styrofoam heart. I pull the string back until it is flush up against my chapped lips. Another pluck and the arrow is sent hurling through Clove's heart. It's sticking out her back by about four inches. _Nice Katniss._

My attention turns to a couple hanging sacks of flour to my left. I quickly load an arrow and shoot. My mind automatically plasters Foxface's image onto the bag before it is sliced open, spilling her powdery guts onto the floor. Peeta's face appears on the next sack of flour… _maybe next time._

I feel the blood heating itself within my veins. I know it's wrong to kill people, but this is kind of fun… pretend killing that is.

I notice a practice dummy across the gymnasium. Its left arm has already been severed for some reason. Probably Cato just being an idiot as usual. Cato.

Once again my mind has already gone to work. Cato's smirk is slapped across the dummy's face, his muscles bulge in anticipation of an attack, and his eyes… oh his eyes are so... blue.

My mouth twitches for a moment. That was weird.

I lift the bow once again to my eye level, readying for the kill shot. I put Cato's forehead right into my imaginary cross hairs, but something's not right. Cato doesn't deserve to be remembered by such an amazing shot. I'll shoot him in the stomach. So his death will be bloody, painful, and tedious.

_Shoot him in the throat Katniss_. My mind tells me. _Do it._

_Wait Katniss! Aim for his heart! _Another part of me screams.

_Katniss you must take out his brain! If you don't kill him immediately he'll come for you. _No way. Is my mind really arguing with itself?

_He needs to suffer. He needs to know what he does to people. Hit his stomach. _This is all too real. It's as if I'm yelling into my own skull.

_The throat! Now!_

_No! The brain!_

_Kill his heart!_

_Teach him a lesson!_

My mind is spinning. I can't stop it. Part of me hates Cato because he has no decency, part of me hates him because he plays with my emotions, part of me hates him because he's better than me, and part of me hates him for what he does to others. It's like a never ending circle of hate inside my own thoughts.

_THE HEART!_

My eyes black out for a moment…

_NO! _I shout back into my own mind.

I feel my arm draw the string back as far is the bow will allow, then release it into the air. Time seems to slow as my sight returns to me. I watch the arrow as it propels itself toward its target. The arrow is surely headed towards Cato's forehead, I can see it, but something feels wrong.

At the moment when my arrow was supposed to deliver its kill shot the unimaginable happens. It skidded right over the top of Cato's head, barely scuffing his hair. My kill shot missed. _WHY?_ _I just don't miss like that!_ The arrow embedded itself into the matted floor behind Cato. I drop the bow to the ground.

Cato continues to smile at me, but something's different. He's no longer giving his usual smirk, the smirk that says "I'm better than you." He's wearing a real smile. Why's he so happy? I just tried to kill him. None of this makes sense! I never miss! My mind is doing flip flops within itself. Nothing seems real anymore. Suddenly Cato begins to speak.

"You missed because you don't really hate me." Says Cato before he blows away into the wind, leaving the plain, left armless dummy that was there before.

I feel a tear roll down my cheek.

"What? Why?" I ask Cato, but he's already gone. "WHY?"

I sit down on the mat next to my discarded silver bow. I hug my legs close to my chest.

"Why don't I hate you?"

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><p><strong>So why don't you leave me some more nice reviews? :3<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Katniss POV

I spent the remainder of my night in the practice room stabbing dummies and stretching. I know I should be sleeping, but seriously who the hell cares anymore? I'm not dying.

My legs feel surprisingly good even though I spent practically all night on them. My back though is another issue. It feels stiff. Maybe Peeta can pop it before we leave.

I place the knife back on its holder and head for the elevator. Maybe Peeta's the only person awake back on our floor so I don't really have to answer to anyone. I know he'll have some questions but I don't really care. Peeta's friendly enough for me to just tell him.

The elevator makes its accent silently back to our "penthouse" as Effie likes to call it. I can't help but wonder if she knows that this is all a façade as well. The elevator chime brings me back from thought as the metal doors slide open.

The hall is empty. No lights are on. Not a single sign of life lingers outside of our individual bedrooms. I tiptoe across the hall because my boots are still on and I don't feel like removing them.

I'm nearly to my room when I realize there is a light coming from under Peeta's door. Just barely visible, but surly there, the yellow lights seeps through the crevice and into the shag carpet. _Maybe he's in a talkative mood. _I raise my hand and quietly as possible knock on his door. Nothing happens at first but then I hear some shuffling followed by soft footsteps to the door. It slides open, making it appear to be magic, revealing a surprisingly well rested looking Peeta. The light from his room angelically frames hic face. Each curve of his cheek is exposed beautifully in the morning light.

"What is it?" asks Peeta now sounding somewhat tired.

"I just wanted to see if you're up?" I say as I play with my thumbs.

"Well I'm awake." He says with a smile. "It's four AM you know…"

"Yeah, I know. Effie should be waking soon."

"Why are you dressed already? Wait. Didn't we wear those clothes yesterday?" asks Peeta with a strange expression on his face. His eyes squint at me.

"Yeah. I uh… well… I didn't go to bed. I spent the night down in the training arena." I say with a smile as my right hand grabs my left elbow behind my back. Peeta immediately smiles back.

"Why don't you come in so you don't have to stand out in the dark hall anymore?" asked Peeta as he stepped out of the doorway showing me his room.

I walked past Peeta into his room. It looked identical to mine, just a little bit messier. The bed was unmade, probably because he was laying on it, and there were random articles of clothing strewn across the room.

"Sorry" begins Peeta. "Maybe I should have cleaned up first."

"No. You're fine." I said softly as I sat on his bed. It didn't feel lumpy like mine had hours earlier.

"So what did you do in the training room?" asks Peeta as he takes a seat at the desk chair.

"I just shot a lot at some targets, and destroyed all the dummies that were left behind." My fingers twisted a strand of hair. I need to get it braided before we start filming.

"You destroyed all of the dummies?" Peeta spat out as he tried to refrain from laughing. "How did that work out for you?" A smile crept up on my face as I let my twisted strand of hair fall back into place.

"It felt great to let out my frustration. I pictured the faces of other tributes onto the targets when I killed them. I think I killed Glimmer ten times." Peeta's face lit up. I could tell my expression was mirroring his. "I didn't kill you though. Just so you know."

"Well that's good. I don't think I would enjoy being dead anyway." I couldn't help but laugh. Peeta always puts a pleasing spin on any situation.

"Listen… Peeta. I'm- I'm sorry for my outburst yesterday." The words just flowed from my mouth, but I let them come anyway. "I was just under distress, and Cato was annoying me. I really am sorry." I look up into his blue eyes.

"Hey now, it's fine Katniss. I understand. I shouldn't have said that to you. I'm sorry too." Says Peeta. His blue orbs never taking my grey ones from their sight.

"So we're both sorry?" I say with a grin.

"Yeah." Peeta returns my same goofy smile.

For the next hour Peeta and I lay on his bed staring at the ceiling discussing what things had been bothering us. Surprisingly Peeta was very annoyed with the boy from district 3. He explained how the kid was a know it all, and now that he knew he was no longer going to die he came completely out of his shell and would not stop talking. I didn't mention Cato to Peeta, or the fact that I was still very troubled by the stunt he pulled with Caesar. I figured it would be best to avoid that right now.

After an hour of deep conversation a loud knock came through the door.

"Peeta, it's time from breakfast!" chimed Effie. "Today is a big big big day!"

Peeta stood and opened the door. Effie smiled when she realized he was already completely dressed, but then noticed me sitting on the bed and frowned.

"It's not very decent of you two to behave in such disgraceful ways. Young ladies should stay in their bed chambers and young men shall stay in theirs." She said with a crooked smile. "Come now children. Breakfast."

We ate a feast of pancakes and butter for breakfast. There wasn't much of either back in district twelve. I have never tasted pancakes before, but I have seen them in pictures before. Peeta was very familiar with the bread like food, and he even showed me how to eat it "properly".

After we finished our meal, Peeta and I were ushered away to another private meeting. Peeta and I of course walked in together, but were soon broken apart by the directors' strict seating arrangement.

The room is very large, oval shaped actually, and dimly lit. There are no windows, just artificial ones. I can tell now because I have seen so many. If you focus you can see the light coming through is not as pure and clean as sunlight. It resembles a television screen.

The table we are instructed to sit at is long enough to accommodate all of the characters. Seneca Crane is sitting at the head while we sit along the sides. I'm sitting two seats down from Seneca next to the boy from district 4. Cato and Clove sit directly across from us. Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm sitting next to all of the careers.

"Welcome to the morning briefing. We will be holding one of these important hearings every morning now until the games are over." Says Seneca with an ominous smile on his lips. "As you may have already noticed I have you sitting with certain groups of characters in specific sections." As soon as Seneca Crane said this I looked down and noticed the chunk of table where I was sitting was blue. All of the career tributes sat in the blue section as well. _How did I not notice that before? _My eyes scanned the table for Peeta. He was in the middle of the table in the section marked yellow. Only Peeta, the boy from 3, and Foxface sat in this section. Maybe now that we aren't going to die I might actually have use for learning her real name so I can stop referring to her as "Foxface". But that can happen later.

"We did this to help us prepare. It's faster this way." He said as he stood from his chair to get a better look of the table. "Those of you in the green section will run immediately into the wilderness as soon as the game has started to. If you do not the careers have been instructed to kill you." The words sink in around the table. "Those of you in the yellow section will run into the woods, but linger near the cornucopia, and finally those of you in the blue section will rush towards the cornucopia, plunder it, and kill everyone who is not a career tribute." I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I silently raise my hand. Seneca stops speaking and stares at me. "Yes miss Everdeen?"

My throat feels dry. "but- but I'm not a career tribute, sir." My voice sounds scared and squeaky.

"Ah yes. Do not worry. We have something special planned, miss Everdeen." My nerves begin to calm. "You and Clove will be briefed again before the game starts and we will explain the situation." My bones lock in place once the words have escaped his lips. _Do they not want me as a character anymore? Are they just going to let Clove kill me?_

My eyes move across the table to Clove's smug face. Ugh I hate her.

"What are fire girl and Clove doing?" asks Cato. _Great. Now he's jealous because he wants to kill me too._

"They're just going to add more suspense for the audience. Nothing to be concerned about, Cato." Says Seneca Crane as he stacks a pile of papers neatly in front of him.

"Concerned? No way! I just want to be the one that kills her!" _great _"It won't be fare if Clove gets to do it!"

"Patience Cato." Says Seneca very level headily.

"You'll be lucky if you survive long enough to catch her." Seethed Peeta from down the table.

"What did you say, lover boy?" snapped Cato as his head craned towards Peeta.

"I think you heard me." said Peeta as he shook his head in disdain.

"Quiet." Called Seneca as he read through a sheet of paper. A hush fell over the room immediately. "You'll be dismissed as soon as we have the paper work done." Called Seneca as he sorted through more papers.

"So fire girl, you got a name?" the voice surprises me. I quickly look up to see Cato and Clove deep in conversation. _Who said that?_

"I'm over here." My head shot to the right. The boy from district 4 sat there with a big smile on his lips. "I'm Joulan."

"I'm Katniss Everdeen." I say blankly, still a little shocked he was talking to me.

"Well Katniss Everdeen let me be the first to say good luck today." He said without the smile every leaving his face. It exposed his perfectly white straight teeth. I feel my cheeks blush but I hold in the smile. My teeth are no where close to perfect like his are.

"Th- thanks, Joulan." My voice sounds nervous. "Um… why are you talking to me?"

"Can I not talk to the pretty girl?" has says while faking a pout. I'm almost relieved that I don't have to stare at his teeth anymore. My cheeks are blushing again. _Wait did he just call me THE pretty girl?_

"Well Glimmer is right over there." I say with a nod in the general direction of the blonde gladiator.

"I sat the pretty girl." Says Joulan blankly.

"Oh…" _Dammit cheeks quit blushing._

"Katniss Everdeen, you're blushing." He says with another toothy grin.

"I am not." I say as I rub my eyes. There's nothing in them. I just need to hide my face for a few seconds to compose myself. Out of the corner of my eye I catch a glimpse of Cato and Clove watching.

"You really are!" says Joulan with a laugh.

"You really are!" calls out Clove obviously mimicking him.

"Watch it Joulan. Lover boy will kick your ass if you mess with her." Cato sounds angry.

"You sure Peeta's the only one who's getting angry?" says Joulan with a wink towards Cato. Cato's face turns bright red. Clove just rolls her eyes.

"Alright everyone you can go now. Just go back to your floor and meet with your teams." Said Seneca. I silently thanked the universe for bringing him in to end the awkwardness.

"Just watch yourself 4." Said Cato as he stood from the table.

Everyone quietly collected themselves and left the room. It was going to be a long day. I could already tell.

Peeta and I met Effie and Haymitch at the top of the elevator where they were waiting with our outfits.

"You need to get changed before we enter the arena." Said Cinna stepping out from the back bedroom.

"Of course." Says Peeta as he merrily takes his clothes and heads to his room. I do the same.

I can hear Effie in the hallway complaining about how ugly the outfits are as I get dressed. _What does she expect?_ It's a dark blue blouse with brown cargo pants. The black leather boots fit my feet perfectly. I won't have a problem running in these.

After I'm dressed I meet the others back in the hallway. Peeta is once again dressed just like me, but its expected this time. I feel kind of safer knowing I won't stand out. _Katniss, you're no dying._ I keep forgetting that for some reason.

"Hurry children! We have to stay on schedule." Squeals Effie as she presses the elevator button. It arrives almost instantly. Peeta and I step inside first followed by Cinna. I hear the door close behind me while I'm looking out the crystal window. The room feels strange. I turn around to see that Effie and Haymitch will not be accompanying us to the roof. _Thank you for the goodbyes. _I once again realize that I'm not actually going to be dying. _Haymitch has to know, but what about Effie?_

"Just remember what Haymitch told you to do in the arena." Says Cinna as the doors slide open revealing the waiting hovercraft. _Cinna obviously doesn't know we're not dying. _

"Sure thing." Peeta says with a smile. Cinna gladly returns it. Peeta always seems to know what to say.

I grab hold of the ladder that leads into the hovercraft ready to climb up, but an electric current passes through my hand and into my body, freezing me in place. The ladder silently raises me into the hovercraft.

"Hold still Katniss. This is your tracker." Says a woman behind me. I feel the sharp stab into my forearm. There is clear pressure as something slides under my skin. _Why the hell do they still need a tracker in me?_

Soon after I am released from the ladder's electric grip I see Peeta raised into the craft as well. He too receives a tracker. I now see it is a large needle on a tube attached to the wall.

"I guess we just wait now." Says Peeta as he rubs his forearm. I see a blinking fluorescent light right under his skin.

"Yeah. I guess so." I say without removing my eyes from the blinking light. This is probably what a moth feels like. Peeta must notice my stare because he puts his hand over the blinking light.

The ride seems to go by so fast. After watching the capitol through the porthole windows for about ten minutes, the windows go black. _The arena must be near. _I can feel the craft lowering towards the earth. My palms begin to sweat. The windows become transparent once again. I can tell we're underground now, on the way to the loading bays.

The hovercraft comes to an abrupt stop. The doors slide open revealing a long dimly lit hallway. The blue lights on the ceiling make the room appear distant and depressing. Two peace keeps arrive and take Peeta away. Two more appear and take me off in the other direction.

"KATNISS! GOOD LUCK!" I hear Peeta yell over my shoulder. I try not to look back at him, but I just can't. My head whips back around to see him staring at me as he's shoved away.

I'm taken to the end of the hallway where a single door awaits me. The number 12 painted in white on its face. It slides open with a slight snapping noise. My loading bay was plain cement on every side. A single circular platform sits in the corner. It glows blue in the dim light.

"There you are." Says a friendly voice. I turn to see Cinna sitting on a bench beside the door. He looks even more tired than he did twenty minutes ago. His gold eyeliner glistens in the blue lights.

"Cinna…I don't know if I can do this." I manage to say.

"Just do what Haymitch said. Survive." I realize he still means not getting killed when I actually meant leaving Prim and my mother to an uncertain life, but I know he's not allowed in on this secret so I just play along.

"Okay." I say as tears slide down my cheek.

"You'll be fine. Besides, you're the girl on fire." Says Cinna with his beautiful smile of hope. I can't be more thankful for his presence. He's like an older version of Peeta who has outgrown his crush finally.

Cinna and I sit and wait in silence. He holds my hand to comfort me, but it doesn't help much. I can't help but think of Prim back home. Poor Prim. She has to watch her sister 'die' on live television. I hope for her sake mom has not left. She can't just disappear into her own mind right now. Prim needs her.

"Load your platforms." Says a robotic male voice over the intercom. Cinna glances up and our eyes meet.

"You can do this Katniss." He says. His face never changes from its serious pose. I just nod in agreement.

My feet feel shaky as I stand up. The circular pad is only ten feet away, but it seems like forever as I begin to walk. My steps feel off balance.

"Wait!" snaps Cinna as he jumps from his seat. I'm soon enveloped in his strong arms. "Win."

"I will." I say as tears slide down my cheeks. They burn against my red hot skin.

"Here. I have your totem." Cinna says as he pulls the mockingjay pin from his shirt pocket. "Wear it proudly." He places is it in my hand and closes my fingers over the gold jewelry.

I silently step back onto the launch pad. Cinna is smiling at me as a cylindrical glass tube slides down from the ceiling separating us. I quickly pin my mockingjay to the jacket breast in fear that I'll lose it. I don't know whether or not the characters' mines will be activated but I don't want to take a chance dropping my totem on one. I look up to see that Cinna is gone, replaced by a black wall. The pad must have started to rise as I was pinning my totem on.

The tube seems to go on and on. My eyes begin to adjust to the dark space. My breathing gets shallow from the confined space. I'm about to throw up when a blinding light hits me. My eyes were so used to the dark I could not see. I could feel the hot sun on my face. _Shit we're in a desert._

"_Forty five….forty four…" _The robotic voice is counting down to the start of the games.

My throat goes dry. I can't breath. I still can't see.

"_Thirty nine….thirty eight…"_

I realize that my eyes are still closed, but everything is still so bright in the dark. I cautiously open them to let the painful light pour in.

"_Thirty one… thirty…"_

I can now see the cornucopia about 100 yards away. It's painful to look at it, but I must.

"_Twenty eight… twenty seven…"_

I notice a bow among all of the weapons, but I can't go for it. I want to live. I don't want to be murdered by the careers.

"Katniss. Katniss." A voice rings out in my head. I look around to see all of the other tributes as they inspect the crop of weapons.

"Katniss, I'm a director. My name is Jem." Says the voice again.

"Where are you?" I call.

"Your earpiece." Says Jem.

"_Twenty… nineteen." _

I notice Cato maybe twenty yards to my right. The sun seems to frame his face. His hair appears golden in the light.

"Katniss listen to me. We need you to run for that orange backpack." My eyes break away from Cato and scan the field. _What backpack?_

"What backpack?" I ask.

"Twenty two yards thirty degrees to your left." Says Jem. My eyes naturally move to the area she said it was in. I spotted the bright orange backpack on the ground. _Why would I want that? You could spot the orange for miles. _I suddenly realized we were in the forest. _Yeah you could spot that for miles._

"_Twelve… eleven…"_

"I don't want to die." I say into the air.

"You have to trust me Katniss." Says Jem. "Go for the backpack." I quickly think back to the meeting in which Seneca Crane told the careers to kill all but their own.

"_Eight… seven…"_

"Go for the backpack, Katniss." Says Jem but this time more roughly.

"_Five… four…" _My knees are trembling now. I don't know what to do. If I run for the backpack it means certain death, if I run for the woods the game makers will surely kill me too. My feet instinctively aim for the trees.

"_Three… two…"_

"The backpack!" screams Jem. She must have noticed that I'm poised to run away from the cornucopia.

"_One…Begin!"_

My eyes close as the feet that I used to have control over take command of my body. Everything goes silent as I run through the darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry this took so long. I've been very busy lately with school and such. Thanks for waiting and thanks for pointing out I called Cato the district 1 boy. That has actually come up a lot while I was writing but I'd always catch it. I guess one just slipped through lol well enjoy this chapter that actually came out short for some reason :3

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><p>Chapter 5<p>

Katniss POV

My legs are running. I am still though. I don't know where I am. I don't know where I am going, but I am running to get there. The bright sun pours into my hazy eye sockets in a blurred frenzy. I feel disoriented as I stumble onto the ground. Something tripped me.

"Katniss keep moving." Says a voice in my head.

My eyes come into focus as I realize I tripped over a coil of rope lying on the ground.

"Katniss get up." Says the voice. "You need to keep moving."

My eyes dart foreword. I can see cornucopia. I can see the tributes running about grabbing supplies trying to flee into the wilderness, to safety. The tributes are having fun slaughtering those who don't move fast enough. The boy from district 7 comes sprinting across the plain in my direction.

"I have him!" calls someone behind him. I can only assume it's a girl.

The boy continues to sprint towards me. He scoops up an orange backpack that was about fifteen feet in front of me as he runs for the woods. _Wait… that's MY backpack._

"Grab that backpack Katniss. Now!" yells the voice in my head. Without thought I lunge out and grab hold of the orange backpack's strap as the district 7 boy goes running past my spot on the ground. I'm yanked at least five feet from my position as the boy loses his footing and falls to the ground as well.

"Dammit you asshole!" calls the boy has he spins around onto his knees to face me. His left hand is raised in a fist poised to punch me. Before he can bring his hand down to strike me though, a knife flies over my head and sticks his chest.

"Grab the bag and run Katniss." Says the voice. _Jem, it's Jem. _Her name suddenly returns to me.

The boy from district 7 continues to cry and spit up blood as he attempts to pull the dagger from his chest. Bad decision. I climb to my feet and grab the backpack.

"Oh no you don't!" screams a voice behind me. I whirl around just in time to see Clove running towards me, knife in hand ready to through. _Shit_.

My legs once again take control because before I know it, I'm sprinting full speed towards the woods. I can feel Clove following me. I instinctively raise my backpack to protect the back of my head. I am correct in guarding myself because as soon as the backpack rose to defend my skull, I felt a knife bury itself into the orange fabric. I just kept running. I crossed the field and flung myself into the woods. Grass turned dirt and a carpet of pine needles. Clove was no longer following me. I felt her presence fade at the end of the field. She would no doubt return to the cornucopia for the spoils.

I kept running for nearly an hour. I crossed a stream, and ran into a thorn bush by accident. It left tiny scratches streaming in long bright red lines across my pale skin. I kept trudging foreword though, I don't care if I'm safe from harm, that was real back there. _Did Clove try to kill me? Am I supposed to be dead right now? Did I outsmart the game makers? _My mind is spinning with questions. I spot a black berry bush and decide to stop. I need to look through my pack anyway.

I plop down next to the bush loaded with ripe fruit and open my orange pack. I make a mental note to camouflage the backpack as soon as possible. Even if this isn't real the audience has to believe it. Katniss Evderdeen is not an idiot.

The pack contains a pack of crackers, a pack of dried beef strips, one thin black sleeping bag, a bottle of iodine, a box of wooden matches, a small coil of wire, a pair of sunglasses and a half-gallon plastic bottle that's empty. _Wow. _

I can't help but wonder how Peeta is doing… and Cato.

Peeta POV

There has to be some weird plot twist later in the games because the directors have placed me in an alliance with the career tributes. Some man named Niko spoke to me through my earpiece and told me what to do. The careers must have received some instructions too because they willingly let me into their group. I just don't see how the audience will believe this. That boy from district 3 is also in our alliance. Now that was unexpected. In real life the careers would have slaughtered him without a second thought.

"Alright lover boy. Pick up a spear so we can get going." Said the district 2 male, Cato. "I prefer to hunt at night but we can still catch some of the slower ones who are trying to flee." He words chilled my flesh clear to the bone. He spoke as if these were not real living people we were talking about.

"Let's go!" called out the district 2 girl as I scooped up a spear. She seemed a little too urgent to start fake killing people.

As we run off into the woods I can't help but wonder how Katniss is doing.

Cato POV

The directors must be fucking nuts. I would never be stupid enough to let a sloppy district 12 tribute onto my alliance, or a nerdy little boy for that matter. I hope they know what the fuck they're doing because I do not want to be made a fool.

"Where exactly are we going?" asked Glimmer from behind me. _I really don't know._

"Into the forest." My reply came automatically, and it sounded rather annoyed. I was still a little ticked that the games were a lie. My father was a liar. My training was for nothing. I could feel my face go red with anger.

"What are we going to do about the fire girl?" asked Clove behind me.

"Crush her." Another automatic response escapes my lips. Awkwardness consumed my body. _You actually aren't allowed to kill her. _But that didn't stop me from accidently killing someone earlier.

Clove POV

Cato seems to really be into this acting shit. _Crush her. _What does he think this is? Reality? Maybe he really plans on killing her like he did to that boy from district 4. I still don't understand why he did it, but the directors must not have been planning on him winning anyway because they didn't even mention his murder in my earpiece. Cato never mentioned it either.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Sooooo yeah I know this is late but please cut me some slack. I had to wait 'till school was over then I had to work as a councilor at some camps but I think I'm out of the woods now. Here is the very much anticipated chapter 6. And thanks for all the nice reviews and the critical ones too. :)**_

Chapter 6

Katniss POV

I walked silently through the forest. I can't help but wonder if the games were real would I stand a real chance in winning this. They threw us into the woods for crying out loud. I couldn't ask for a better location to be put in a fight to the death.

I hear a rustle in the leaves off in the distance. It's not hard to spot a disturbance out in the wilderness. Something just changes when an outside force emerges. The birds fall silent, the trees groan, the rabbits hide, and the plants speak... figuratively of course. I could feel it. Years on my own have taught me to prepare myself for these confrontations. My eyes scan the nearby trees for a suitable climbing specimen. I spot it. Ten yards to my left is a tall old oak tree. I quickly make pace over to it and scale its dry trunk.

My arms wrap around a large branch as I listen to the unknown intruder stomp through the underbrush. I can hear the breathing, very high pitched as if the tribute has been running for a while but not used to it. I can also tell it's a female… and she's alone.

I pull the knife out of my backpack's rear pocket and prepare to drop out of the tree on top of her if she comes to close or notices me. She appears to be unarmed though.

I watch the wayward female as she crosses through the trees over to a small patch of short black locusts and buries herself inside. _Perfect cover. Maybe she isn't so stupid after all. _

The sun is going down and I'm still in this tree. I have two options now. I could either stay the night in the tree, or climb down. If I climb down there are two more sub-choices, either flee or kill the girl. If I leave I have to worry about the tribute spotting me and giving away my position. If I kill her I still need to worry about her giving up my position.

Choices continue to bombard my skull as Jem's voice fills my head.

"Stay in the tree Katniss." Says Jem as if she knew exactly what I was thinking. "A pack of tributes in an alliance have set out in your direction and will be there in approximately forty-five minutes." _That's enough time to get the hell out of here… _"Stay in your tree and hide. More instructions will follow." Oh how I wished I could speak back to her.

I lay across the branch in silence as I look up through the higher branches at the few stars I can see. I listen intently for the footsteps of the careers to fall on my location. The time spent in my tree seems like eternity before a single crackle sets me on edge. My head turns to the wilderness, but the disturbance isn't coming from there. I quickly turn back to the black locust trees where the female tribute was hiding. My worst nightmare has been realized; The dumbass has started a fire.

I collect my bag and sit up on my branch ready to run. It's been close to forty-five minutes anyway. The careers will be here any minute and they won't hesitate to slit her little neck.

I watch in silence, as the fire grows larger. I can see the tribute now as she sits beside the fire warming herself. Suddenly I realize that I am pretty cold too, but I don't take my sleeping bag out. I might have to make a quick get away. I look down to the ground. If Jem hadn't have called me I would be long gone by now. My thoughts are cut short by the booming sound of the national anthem as it plays overhead. My neck cranes up to let me see today's REAL death toll. I watch in silence as the faces of the murdered children flash one by one. I count to myself. The boy from district four, his face appears in the sky. _That can't be right. He was assigned to be a character. How did he die? _The faces continue to pass but my mind is still wrapped around that boy. _He wasn't supposed to die. Maybe I'm still in actual danger. _I sink back down closer to my safe branch. I lost count on the death toll but I knew that ten were planned to die, and one died that was supposed to live. Eleven dead in total, thirteen left. I watched as the nation's seal appears in the sky one last time, then vanished.

That's when I felt it. I could feel the fauna slink away into the darkness as something drew near. I knew they were coming long before I heard their lumbering footsteps. The careers are here.

Cato POV

Some stupid tribute decided to light a fire in the middle of the night. No skin off my bones… just skin off theirs.

"Cut!" calls the voice in my head. I don't remember his name and I don't really care.

"What!" I call out to no one in particular.

"Did you hear that too?" asked Marvel.

"My person told me cut." Added Glimmer.

Before I have time to respond three hovercrafts appear out of nowhere above us, and lower down to the ground. Camera crews and random people pour out of them onto the earth. Several capitol women approach me and start powdering my face with make up. Judging by the curses I hear behind me, it sounds like Clove and the others are getting the same treatment.

"Set those lights over there!" called an obviously very controlling voice. I can only assume whoever he is that he's in charge.

"Well he's not going to need much make up anyway. He possesses a very fair complexion." Says one of the women doing my make up. I still didn't know exactly what is going on.

The women finish with my make up. I turn around to see Marvel and lover boy are finished as well. Clove and Glimmer are still under the brush, I guess because they're girls. Lover boy's face has been made to look a little grimier. _Are they trying to make it looked like he's been ruffed up? _

"Katniss I'm going to need you to come down here for a minute." Calls the man who was speaking earlier. _Wait… she's here? _

My head whips around as I scan the woods around looking for her. I'm about to give up when she drops from an old oak tree ten yards to my left. _The bitch was up there this whole time. What was she doing? _I watched as another crew of women approached her rather quickly and start applying make up. _What? is fire girl gonna be in this scene too? _

"From here on out all of the deaths are fake aren't they?" asks Clove behind me. She must be done with her make up.

"Yes. And judging by what's going on this death is one hundred percent staged. I wonder if we'll be doing multiple takes." Adds in Glimmer.

"Do you think we'll be doing multiple takes?" mocks Clove. "Of course we'll be doing multiple takes! It's a television show!"

"Shut up ogre." Says Glimmer very calmly.

I look back to fire girl who is now getting directions from the guy who tells everyone what to do. Even through her ill fitted jacket I can still see the outline of her taut physique. Her pants fit to her form perfectly. Her face remains blank as she listens intently to what the man has to say. I'm starting to think he's the head director or something. His whole outfit is camouflage, everything from his jacket down to his cargo pants. The only article standing out is his bright yellow ball cap. My eyes dart back to Katniss as soon as she starts to talk again. Her lips move quickly and with purpose as she speaks to the director.

"Yeah I want to kill her too." Says Clove as she steps up beside me.

"Yeah… It fucking sucks that we don't get to."

"But some of us don't want to just kill her do we, Cato?"

"What are you talking about?" my head spins over to look at her. She has her annoying smirk slapped right across her face.

"Oh nothing." And with that she turns around and leaves. I make a mental note to punch Marvel in the jaw for what just happened just because I can't hit Clove. When I look back over to fire girl she's already half way up her tree again. _Damn that girl can climb. _

"Okay Cato. We're going to need you and you're goons to stalk over here to this underbrush where Lydia is hiding." Says the director. "Then draw your knife and we'll call cut." _What's a goon?_

"Are you sure you want him to do that? What if another mishap takes place?" teases Glimmer.

"It won't." I state coldly.

"Okay places people!" calls the director. The other career tributes and I line up and prepare to stalk over to the small trees where the idiotic tribute girl hides.

"You guys ready to fake kill this bitch?" asks Glimmer. I don't know why but her voice is getting more and more annoying every time she opens her trap.

"ACTION!" belts out the director.

We all step in unison as we approach the small campfire. No one's footsteps make a sound as we cross the dried dead leaves that litter the ground. The tribute girl's face comes into view now. She has pale skin littered with freckles and frizzy brown hair.

"Hey there." Says Clove as we approach her fire. She looks up at us in fear as she clumsily crawls backwards on her hands.

"No! Please!" she begs as we close in. My hand slips into my sheath to draw my blade.

"CUT!" calls the director extra loudly. He's probably worried that I'll kill her for real. "That was great. Someone get me the dummy."

Katniss POV

I sit in my tree and watch in silence as the career tributes ruthlessly stab at a dummy uniquely created to resemble the district 8 female who is now watching from the sidelines. It appears as if she's about to throw up. The dummy squirts out fake blood with every stab.

"Cut!" calls the director. Cato stabs the dummy one more time for good measure, then backs away with his fellow careers. "Okay Lydia honey I'm gonna need you to lay right here and we're gonna squirt you with fake blood okay? Okay." Says the director.

I watch as the district 8 girl, Lydia, lies on the ground and extra make up is applied to her face.

"ACTION!"

Lydia begins to scream hysterically as the drench her in fake blood. She's a little too good at this acting shit.

"Cut! Good work doll face." Says the director as he throws a towel at Lydia. "Clean yourself up you're done." She happily takes the towel, gets up, and is taken away by her make up crew.

"Okay Katniss honey it's your turn to be a star. I want you to stay up there and cling to that branch like a squirrel or whatever while Cato and his Goons converse underneath you." _Ohhh suspense. _The director gives all of the Careers… and Peeta? _Is that Peeta? _My mind is spinning as I watch Peeta receive a piece of paper from the director. Possibly a script. They all read it over, nod their head to the director and give the sheets back. I can feel my stomach practically doing backflips by now.

"Okay you guys ready?" The careers…. and Peeta nod. "Okay then ACTION!"

"Woo! The first real killing of the games!" calls out Glimmer.

"What? The eleven dead yesterday don't count?" asks Marvel.

"Well they do but we didn't hunt them down." adds Glimmer.

"Hey why haven't we heard a cannon yet?" asks Clove.

"That means she's not dead." says Marvel dryly.

"I stuck her myself. She's dead." says Cato. His voice is slightly scary. He sounds like he's actually angry.

"Obviously not. The cannon didn't go off!" says Clove.

"You guys! We're wasting time. I'll go back and finish her." adds Peeta finally.

"Well hurry up lover boy." says Cato. I listen as Peeta's footsteps vanish into the distance.

"Why are we keeping him around anyway?" asks Glimmer.

"Because he's our only chance of catching fire girl." States Cato.

"I still think we should just kill him." adds Marvel.

"You still think wrong. Shhh! He's coming." says Clove.

"Okay it's done." says Peeta. As if on cue a cannon fires somewhere in the distance.

"Good. Let's get going." says Cato.

"CUT!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Katniss POV

The hovercraft ride back to our sleeping quarters was long and quiet for the most part. Peeta sat next to me, Rue and Thresh directly across from us. The boy from district 3 sat next to Peeta. I learned earlier that his name is Arnold.

"So what di you guys do today?" asked Rue with a big smile.

"I sunbathed." Said Thresh. I was forced to stifle a laugh. His skin is already so dark. Rue giggled anyway.

"I had to trump around all day with those jerks." Muttered Peeta.

"I know! That was pointless. In real life I would never do that." Added Arnold.

"What did you do Katniss?" asked Rue with her hands placed firmly on her knees. Her childish posture reminded me of Prim.

"I ran through the woods and climbed a tree." My response seemed boring compared to Thresh's joke and Peeta's complaint.

"I climbed trees too!" chirped the little tribute.

"I think we're here." Says Arnold when the hovercraft begins to slow and descend. My hands burn from climbing up and down that oak tree for take after take. Apparently I'm not the best actress and the director made me do the same thing like five times. I came close to punching him in the jaw. I wasn't surprised to see Peeta flowing through his parts like no body's business. He knows how to work the crowd, and he sure does know how to act.

"Well we can't go to bed just yet." Said Rue as she hopped up from her seat. "I overheard the director talking about how they had to scan our bodies or something like that." _Scan our bodies?_

The hovercraft gently landed on the ground. Some capitol attendants appeared to help us out of the hovercraft. I couldn't exactly tell where we were. Everything is too dark. The only light I see is light coming from the hovercraft.

"Follow me to the visualization laboratory." Says one of the attendants.

"Is that where you're going to scan our bodies?" squeal Rue jumping out from behind Peeta. The attendant doesn't respond, but just keeps marching foreword into the darkness. I feel my gut begin to turn with anticipation.

"Where are the other tributes?" asks Thresh.

"You are the last to arrive." Says the attendant. I realize now that she's a woman. Their clothes do a very good job of keeping their appearance gender neutral and they must have some sort of device that they speak through because she sounds like a robot when she talks.

"Why is it so dark?" asks Arnold sounding slightly scared. Once again there is no response. The knot in my gut tightens.

"So you don't talk much do you?" asks Peeta. The attendant doesn't respond.

We walk for about ten minutes along a cobblestone path before the cobblestone is replaces with hard metal. Dimly lit lights line the walls. _So we're in a hallway now?_

"Prepare your eyes." Says the attendant.

"Prepare our eyes?" we all seem to ask in unison as she opens a door to my left. Bright light pours into the hallway and I'm nearly blind. I feel the tears sliding down my cheeks when my hands fly up to cover my scorched eyes from the intense light.

"She told you to cover your eyes." Says a familiar voice. My hands find the wall quickly and I'm forced to lean on it.

"Of course those pathetic tributes wouldn't think fast enough to cover their eyes." Says another familiar voice.

"Holy fuck!" calls out Thresh somewhere behind me. Thankfully I'm not the only one who didn't cover their eyes quick enough.

"If you don't try to open your eyes you won't get used to it." _Who is there? _I force my hands away from my eyes. It hurts terribly but I open my eyes slowly. I see the white floor, and my feet. The pain is almost unbearable before it disappears. I blink several times to make sure that this is true. The painful light is no longer painful, now it's just normal light. I turn around to see the others still crumbling in pain.

"Open your eyes!" I tell them. "The pain will stop if you just force yourself to open yours eyes."

"Look at fire girl taking the leadership role." I immediately realize who that is. Cato.

Peeta has to force his hands away from his eyes as well. It takes him a few seconds but he manages to open his eyes just long enough for the pain to disappear. He goes through the same action I did, blinking as if it's not true, then looking back at the others. Arnold has now open his eyes as well.

"What is that?" asks Peeta as his head spins back around to face me.

"I don't know. That was too weird though." Says Thresh. His large hands now rubbing his eyes in disbelief that the pain could disappear that quickly. Rue just walks past us into the white room.

"It's about time you people got here." Says the first voice again. I turn around to see all of the other character tributes sitting along the white walls in white plush waiting chairs similar to ones I think I saw at a capitol train station, but I'm not sure.

"What is this?" asks Peeta.

"Just take a seat lover boy. It's not you're turn yet." Says Clove. I realize now that the first voice was her. "They aren't even done scanning Glimmer yet."

"Scanning?" I almost don't recognize my own voice.

"You know. The visualization step. Are you stupid?" spits Clove. "What did you think we're going to do our own stunts and get cut in half or have an arm chopped off for real?" The thought hits me as soon as she utters her last sentence. I guess I never thought about that part. "They scan us in our hunger games apparel then whenever they need to dismember someone or throw them off a cliff the use a computer generated model of us and cut it up instead."

"That's very clever." Adds Arnold.

"Okay then what was that light?" demands Peeta.

"Haven't you ever been defloratized?" says the female tribute from four.

"Do you think the district twelve scum has ever been cleaned Kayla?" jokes Cato with a snear.

"What's defloratized?" Peeta asks.

"It's an ultraviolet light that destroys harmful bacteria and also fries electrical devices like microphones or small cameras." Says Arnold from behind me. I almost forgot he was here. "It also cleans off a layer of dead skin. It can be pretty painful to the eyes when contact is first made."

"Where were you when this started?" says Thresh with a glare at Arnold.

"Tributes please have a seat." Says a new attendant. I think this one is male. "The visualization chamber is ready for the next tribute." Peeta, Rue, Thresh, Arnold and I all take a seat as the girl from district four, Kayla I think is what Cato called her, gets up and follows the attendant out of the room. _This is going to take a while._

To my surprise after sitting in the waiting room for a while I realized that the attendants were going by no specific order as they escorted tributes to the visualization chamber… wherever that is. Whoever volunteers first gets to go.

One by one the room empties until no one is left besides Thresh, Peeta, Cato, and myself. Rue has been in the visualization chamber for thirty minutes now so the attendant should be coming in any minute now.

"So who do you think is going to win?" My head shoots up from mu knees at the sound of another person's voice. Nearly no words have been spoken at all since I've arrived.

"What? Are you worried?" asks Thresh. His voice sounds hard and insincere.

"No. I'm just curious." Says Cato. "I mean, I know I'm the number one choice to win, but every once in a while in the games someone gets lucky and end up winning when they should have died."

"Well what does it matter to you?" interrupts Peeta. "If you win you get showered with praise from the capitol and your district, if you lose no one will know where you are."

"What are you saying?" yells Cato obviously disgusted by Peeta's words. "I've trained my whole life for this and I don't give a shit if it's fake or not I still plan on winning."

"You're pathetic." Spits Thresh. Immediately after Thresh says this a capitol attendant enters the room.

"Next tribute."

"Me! Get me out of here!" says Peeta as he hops to his feet and begins to cross the room over to the attendant. He stops midway though as if he's in thought. "I'm sorry Katniss, you must be dying to get out of here too. Do you want to go?"

"No it's fine Peeta. You go. I'm okay where I am. I'll see you at…" I suddenly realize I don't know where we'll be staying. "…Wherever it is that we'll be staying. Go on." I smile to assure him I'm fine.

"Well okay. As long as you're fine." He shyly returns my smile.

"Pathetic. Lover boy just hurry up." Groans Cato with his hands plastered to his face with annoyance. Peeta just rolls his eyes and exits with the attendant.

"Why don't you two just shut up and fuck already?" asks Cato but it comes out more like a statement. "This baby shit is pathetic."

"He's not being pathetic he's being a real friend, but I'm sorry I know it must be hard for you to understand what a real friend it." I shoot back at him.

"He doesn't want to be your friend he wants to be your boyfriend!" yells Cato.

"Then what's your problem with that? Why do you care? Stay out of my business!" I shriek back at him. It really isn't any of his business what Peeta is to me or what Peeta wants to be to me.

"I don't care. It's just annoying. That's all."

"Then just leave me and my friends, _all of them_, alone." I say to him. Cato's gaze raises from the floor to meet mine. I glare back at Cato in disgust. _How could he just force his way into my business and insult Peeta like that? Peeta is a great person and was only making sure that I was okay. _"I should have killed you when I had the chance." The words pour from my mouth like water. Cato's eyebrows raise. I can also hear Thresh sit up in his chair.

"When _did _you have the chance to kill me?" asks Cato, his eyes slowly narrowing at me. _When did I have the chance to kill him?_

"Wouldn't you like to know." _That's right. Lead him on._

"It was when you were hiding in that tree weren't you?" _Bingo._

"Yeah. I could have dropped on you and slit your throat right there." I say coldly expecting him to back down, but he does nothing but smile.

"Wow fire girl. I didn't know you had it in you." He says with a smirk.

"Well there's a lot of-"

"Maybe it's because you don't have it in you." His venomous voice cuts me off before I have a chance to speak back. "If you did have it in you, you would have killed me."

"I'm through talking with you Cato." I say calmly as I face the wall. I can't help but feel defeated.

"Admit it. You wouldn't be able to kill someone." I stay focused on the wall. "Admit it." He repeats.

"I don't have to admit anything to you." My eyes stay on the wall. The room falls silent for a few moments.

"Well then I'll just have to prove it to you." I feel Cato's gaze drilling into the side of my head.

"I'll prove it to you when I win." I can sense Cato's expression change.

"I thought you didn't care about winning this?" I turn to face Cato. His face twisted into another sick smirk.

"I don't care about winning this." I tell him. "I care about proving you wrong and getting home to my sister."

"Next tribute." Says the attendant. I didn't even hear him walk in.

"You want this one, Katniss?" asks Thresh.

"No. I'm fine." I couldn't let Cato have another mental victory over me. "You go."

"Okay then." Thresh then stands up and exits the room. Cato and I just continue to glare at each other. His face disgusts me. _He must try real hard to look handsome so the cameras like the way he kills innocent people. His features are so grotesque. His square jaw, his sharp nose, those damn blue eyes…. He's a monster._

"We can settle this in the arena tomorrow." States Cato.

"That we shall." I lean back in my seat and cross my legs triumphantly. "That. We. Shall."


End file.
